The York shop where a murderer on parole stole £17,000 will continue to give ex-prisoners a chance to rehabilitate themselves.

Shared Earth’s management knew about Alison Ramsay’s conviction when it took her on as a sales assistant.

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Life prisoner on parole stole £17,000 from York city centre shop

Over six years, her work convinced management to promote her first to assistant manager and then shop manager for the Fair Trade and ethical products business.

But she repaid their trust in her by using her access to the shop’s till to steal and steal its money until other staff realised what was happening and called in police.

“She fooled us.” said Shared Earth's founder Jeremy Piercy. “She is a very sad person. She had the opportunity to get back into a meaningful role in the community with a job and people who trusted her, and she has ruined it. She is her own worst enemy.”

Today Ramsay is back behind bars. Shared Earth, which has shops in York and Liverpool, will continue to offer prisoners a job – with extra precautions - and now has another ex-prisoner among its 20 staff.

“Many people in prison come out of prison and then commit crimes," said Mr Piercy.

"We feel this is a very valuable service to be able to introduce them to the community, give them self-respect and a wage which will mean they are able to set up on their own and hopefully not commit crime again.

"We will continue to do this as long as we can"

Shared Earth aims to create a better and more sustainable world. 

“Our aim at Shared Earth is to benefit people in other countries who are from vulnerable backgrounds, but we also try to benefit people in this country who have problems of one kind or another,“ he said. 

Employing Alison Ramsay had been a mistake, he said. Because her conviction was for murder, Shared Earth's management had not been sufficiently alert to the possibility that she could defraud it.

Ramsay first worked at the shop on day release from prison. Prisoners on long sentences approaching their release date are granted short periods of freedom so that they can get used to being in the community again whilst still subject to prison restrictions.

She continued to work at Shared Earth once she had been released fully on lifelong parole.

Ramsay was recalled to prison following her arrest for theft.

Shared Earth opened its first shop in Goodramgate, York, in 1986 and moved to Minster Gates in 1991. It is a retailer and wholesaler of ethical products, selling sustainable and recycled products, sourced from countries around the globe to customers at its shops and online.